Manchester United have dropped in standard over the past few seasons, with last year marking just their second season without European football in the post-Alex Ferguson era - but there is no doubting that they used to be at the top of the tree throughout the 1990s and 2000s under the Scottish boss.
Dominant on the pitch, off the pitch in terms of global reach and in terms of recruitment, only a catastrophic collapse has seen them flounder in the Premier League in recent times, even despite various club legends turning out for the Red Devils.
That could have been different had they secured some signings that were extremely 'United-coded' - and following the social media trend of 'coded' stars, GIVEMESPORT takes a look at 10 players who were extremely United-tailored, despite never pulling on the famous red shirt.
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The Red Devils have had some absolute howlers in the transfer market.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane
United typically made a point to buy the best British stars during Fergie's time at Old Trafford - and that should have continued with the signing of the Tottenham Hotspur hero.
Kane burst onto the scene at Spurs in the 2014/15 campaign, scoring 21 goals in the Premier League and that started one of four consecutive campaigns in which he scored 20-plus goals in the league.
United have always had a spate of good strikers, starting from Eric Cantona, through to Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney - right the way down to Robin van Persie, which is when Kane started to strut his stuff in the league.
Most of those strikers had immense build-up play, as well as a goalscoring instinct, and Kane would have slotted right in. You can just imagine him scoring goals at the Stretford End under Jose Mourinho - and it's one of the main 'United-coded' transfers that simply never happened.
Sergio Ramos
Spain's Sergio Ramos
A big-game player, a big personality, hardworking, a great leader - Ramos typified everything that United were under Ferguson.
Of course, he joined Real Madrid in 2005 and became a starter from the off for Los Blancos, and so it's a deal that would have been hard to complete, given that he was the club's captain for a long period of time.
But how Ramos never joined United to become their bonafide skipper after Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand's departures remains a mystery, at least in a coded sense.
Some fans dislike him due to his ability to somehow win all the time, noted with his five La Liga trophies and four Champions Leagues - and that is pretty much synonymous with how United were perceived by English fans throughout Fergie's tenure.
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale
Another player who was the 'best of British', United were constantly linked with Bale throughout the early years of his dominance at Tottenham, before Real Madrid made a world-record bid to land him in 2013.
Bale was a rising star for Tottenham in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, before becoming the Premier League's Player of the Season in the 2012/13 campaign, though it was then too late for United to make their move.
Gareth Bale's Premier League statistics - record by Tottenham season
Season
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Having had dazzling left-wingers in Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo for a period spanning almost two decades, Bale would have been a natural replacement for his compatriot and his eventual Madrid teammate, noted for his entertaining value and world-class nature. It remains a case of what could have been for the Red Devils in their search to land the best in the division.
Leighton Baines
Leighton Baines
One of the most underrated stars in Premier League history, Baines' wizard-like left-foot was a major reason why Everton were so successful and noted as the 'best of the rest' under David Moyes in the mid-2000s, right the way through until the mid-late 2010s.
Overshadowed by Ashley Cole in terms of an England berth, the Merseyside native was constantly linked to Old Trafford, and even had a bid rejected by the Red Devils when Moyes became manager, alongside eventual United star Marouane Fellaini, instead finishing his career at Everton after 13-year spell win which he featured in an impressive 348 games for the Toffees.
Patrice Evra's departure in 2014 left a gaping hole in United's left-back ranks, opting to sign youngster Luke Shaw from Southampton - but unbeknownst to United, he would suffer injury woes.
Baines would have easily bridged the gap in quality for four years at the very least, and, as a hard-working British player, would have seamlessly fit into their mantra.
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane
The Frenchman was the world's best player in the early 2000s, being the mantlepiece star of the early Galacticos era that saw other stars such as David Beckham, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and more at the club.
But United and Zidane would have been a match made in heaven. Having knocked his Juventus side out in the semi-finals of the 1999 Champions League, going on to beat Bayern Munich in stoppage-time in the final, United should have made a move then.
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Evidently a big personality, and with entertainment coming out of his ears, the Red Devils should have launched a bid that summer.
A midfield four of Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs behind Zidane and Cole or Ban Nistelrooy would have potentially stopped Arsenal's dominance, kept Beckham from joining Zidane in Spain, and kept United at the top of the tree. In terms of United-coded transfers, it doesn't get much more obvious than this.
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer celebrating a goal with Newcastle United
Many will claim that the Newcastle United legend would have chosen his hometown side over the Red Devils anyway, but Shearer was close to joining United after a spellbinding number of years at Blackburn Rovers.
His outstanding tally of 112 Premier League goals in just 128 games - including 34 in their title-winning season over United - prompted their interest, with Rovers refusing to sell him to the Old Trafford side after interest.
£15million from the Magpies at the time sealed a world-record deal, instead opting to sign Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham - but Shearer under Fergie would have at least won his second Premier League title in the north-west, having done so at Ewood Park.
Taking the best of Britain from their title rivals, as well as the best striker in England at the time, would have been United-coded and perhaps that was a missed trick.
Luka Modric
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric
Scholes was a superb deep-lying playmaker, who could break into the final third to showcase his dominance - but after retiring with United in 2011 before briefly coming out of retirement, he should have been replaced by Modric.
At that moment in time, the Croatian was excelling for Tottenham and became one of the Premier League's most dynamic midfielders - before, once again, Madrid beat them to his signing.
He's aged like a fine wine, and featured in all but three of their league games last season, racking up 62 appearances in all competitions in his busiest campaign yet.
And United could still have enjoyed his talents had they signed him instead of recalling Scholes, once again taking the best of the Premier League as an entertaining and hardworking midfielder.
Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos
Missing out on Modric wasn't the end of the world, and another United-coded player could have come onto their radar in Kroos - but the recurring theme that Real Madrid sniping all of those players up paints a telling picture as to the current state of the two clubs.
Modric impressed in Spain, but Kroos won the 2014 World Cup with Germany before moving to the Spanish capital - and that prompted another illustrious career with 465 appearances for the club.
But having lost out on Modric after being linked at the time, Kroos would have been another ideal alternative after proving his proficiency with Bayern Munich for six seasons - and as a Scholes replacement, he would've been ideal thanks to his winning mentality, hard-working nature and classy demeanour.
Marco Reus
Aubameyang and Reus formed a deadly duo.
The man who couldn't be moved - it's a mystery as to how Reus saw his playing career out at Borussia Dortmund whilst others around him left for their major rivals.
Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and Mario Gotze all departed for Bayern, but Reus opted to stay and show loyalty to his side.
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The Red Devils have had some particularly woeful players turn out for them at Old Trafford.
The current LA Galaxy star would, however, have been forgiven for trying his hand elsewhere - specifically United, who needed a Rooney replacement once the England legend left for Everton.
Reus went on after Rooney's move to score 64 Bundesliga goals, which could have translated to the Premier League - and his talent and style of play would have been a superb match for a United-coded transfer.
Gary Cahill
Gary Cahill
A slightly left-field shout - but United had also made a point of securing young English talent who had impressed early in the Premier League, particularly at centre-back in Blackburn's Phil Jones and Fulham's Chris Smalling.
Cahill was no different. 130 games for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League by the age of 26 saw him become a dependable player in the north-west, and a short trip down the M60 would have suited him to the ground.
Instead, he went to Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, two Europa Leagues and two FA Cups amongst other individual accolades - and how United could have done with that in their ranks after losing Ferdinand and Vidic.
At a cut-price £7million, he would have been an ideal 'late Fergie-era' transfer and it's quite surprising that, as one of the best of Britain, the club didn't make that move.
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 08-07-25.
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